


In Short: even more 60 word stories

by SCFrankles



Series: 60 For 60 [3]
Category: Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Community: sherlock60, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 16:32:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 60
Words: 6,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6712621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SCFrankles/pseuds/SCFrankles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>60-word stories inspired by the 60 Sherlock Holmes stories in the ACD canon.</p><p>Written for <a href="http://sherlock60.livejournal.com/">Sherlock60</a> on LJ.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Study in Scarlet: Mrs. Hudson Does Her Sums & Divided By a (fairly) Common Language

**Author's Note:**

> This is my third collection of 60 word stories. This time the comm is going through the canon in a (very) rough chronological order.

**Mrs. Hudson Does Her Sums**

 

Bachelor ¼s divided between 2 =

2 (rent payments)

 

Minus:

earplugs and extra gin;

supplying endless cups of tea for Mr. Holmes’s visitors;

having small urchins’ muddy footprints cleaned off the stair carpets;

repairing woodwork and glass of window damaged by dying and morally ambiguous murderer attempting to escape.

 

In total:

2 into 1 {set of rooms}

= Trouble (recurring)

 

 

**Divided By a (fairly) Common Language**

_“This is a queer old book I picked up at a stall yesterday—De Jure inter Gentes—published in Latin at Liege in the Lowlands, in 1642.”_ _[Watson] answered, “...you must make yourself contented by the consciousness of success, like the Roman miser—“ ‘Populus me sibilat, at mihi plaudo Ipse domi simul ac nummos contemplar in arca.’ ”_ It’s all Greek to me...

 

“...and so I dropped everything and travelled from Colorado to consult you.”

Watson nodded. _“Carpe diem!”_

“Yes…”

Mr. Fisher turned to Holmes.

“I realise you may not be able to help me but…”

 _”Nil desperandum!”_ Holmes beamed at his client.

Mr. Fisher smiled back somewhat tentatively.

He hadn’t been expecting the British accent to be quite _this_ difficult to understand.


	2. The Cardboard Box: Daisy Roots and a Whistle and Flute

**Daisy Roots and a Whistle and Flute**

_“Ring for our boots and tell them to order a cab.”_ As has been pointed out elsewhere, this is an amusingly ambiguous sentence… (And apologies to all Cockneys.)

 

“Cab!”

Right-Boot waved primly.

“Nah!” said Left-Boot. “Yer’ve gotta make a fuss to get a flounder!”

Right-Boot turned and stared. “A _‘flounder’?”_

“Don’t worry, chaps! We’ll do it!”

A jacket, waistcoat and trousers appeared and started flapping at the traffic.

“See,” said Left-Boot. “Dey’ll bloody get the cab!”

Right-Boot frowned. “Why?”

Left-Boot grinned at him. “Well… Dat’s Mr. ‘Olmes’s ‘whistle’.”

 

A/N:  
daisy roots = boots  
flounder and dab = cab  
whistle and flute = suit  
knees and ankles = penitent Frankles


	3. The Beryl Coronet: The Annotated Beryl Coronet

**The Annotated Beryl Coronet**

Watson gives us some notes on BERY...

 

_...our bow-window… 1_

**1.** Our second window remained as yet unrepaired, post the Hope affair.

 

_...beat his head against the wall… 2_

**2.** Bill for further damage: £1/5/-

 

_...easy, soothing tones… 3_

**3.** Doesn’t work on Mrs. Hudson apparently...

 

_...thirty-nine enormous beryls… 4_

**4.** Later adopted as the name of a ladies’ dancing troupe, of course.

I’m still in touch with Miss Beryl Murgatroyd.


	4. Silver Blaze: Four Days Later & Silver Blaze of Glory

**Four Days Later**

_“I follow my own methods, and tell as much or as little as I choose.”_

 

_Baker Street_

“And that’s that, Watson!” smiled Holmes. “The Colonel has his horse and the explanation of his trainer’s death. All loose ends neatly tied up..!”

 

_Dartmoor Prison_

“Any news?” cried Fitzroy Simpson.

“Still hoping to get away with it?”

The warder sneered.

“If Mr. Holmes had deduced someone else was the murderer, he would have informed the police _immediately.”_

 

 

**Silver Blaze of Glory**

_“You have only to wash his face and his leg in spirits of wine, and you will find that he is the same old Silver Blaze as ever.”_

 

Holmes’s voice travelled out from the bathroom.

“It’s not that I’m vain…”

“Of course not...” Watson studied the _Sussex Chronicle_ ’s racing page.

“But one _single_ grey streak looks ridiculous!”

Holmes opened the door.

“What do you think?”

“I think…”

The dye was all over the towel, the sink—and Holmes’s ears.

Watson smiled.

“...it’s still a splendid mane of hair.”


	5. The Speckled Band: A Night at the (Light) Opera

**A Night at the (Light) Opera**

_“...he married my mother, Mrs. Stoner, the young widow of Major-General Stoner…”_

_And father is a Major-General!_ (Author currently making her way through a Pirates of Penzance obsession.)

 

“It’s ridiculous!”

Holmes stared aghast at the stage.

“This Frederic’s birthday is apparently in February, but there are girls paddling on a beach! ‘Hardy little lasses’? There’s hardy and there’s dying from _exposure.”_

“I really don’t think the date is that important,” muttered Watson.

Holmes gave him a hard look.

“Gilbert and Sullivan have been a terrible influence on you.”


	6. The Yellow Face: Case Study—John W.

**Case Study—John W.**

_“I can see that you have not slept for a night or two,” said Holmes, in his easy, genial way. “That tries a man’s nerves more than work…”_

 

_“‘...and more even than pleasure…’”_ Watson’s agent looked up. “I’m afraid I don’t quite understand. What..?”

Holmes beamed. “Oh, that’s scientifically proven! I’ve experimented on the Doctor.”

He turned to Watson.

“Remember that _delightful_ weekend away? You were surprisingly tetchy afterwards, dear fellow.”

“Yes...”

Watson winced.

“I had meant to speak to you about that three day Wagner festival, Holmes.”

 

(A/N: Watson’s aversion to Wagner _shamelessly_ pinched from [Small Hobbit](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Small_Hobbit/pseuds/Small_Hobbit). Steal from the best!)


	7. The 'Gloria Scott': Missed Opportunity

**Missed Opportunity**

_“...it's time we were all sent to a young misses' boarding-school.” (GLOR) “I was placed, however, in a comfortable boarding establishment at Edinburgh... In the year 1878 my father... came home. He telegraphed to me from London…” (SIGN)_ I’m ignoring here the bizarrely incongruous timeline in GLOR and going with the usual idea that Holmes was born in 1854.

 

Rhona rushed into the form room. “Did you hear about Mary Morstan’s father? Disappeared without trace in London! Sounds supernatural to me...”

“Don’t be daft. There’ll be a logical solution.” Ishbel considered. “Perhaps Mary should see that fellow my brother knows.”

“Who’s being daft now?”

Rhona took her place.

“If the police can’t help, what could this ‘Sherlock Holmes’ do?”


	8. The Musgrave Ritual: Well-Documented Reasons

**Well-Documented Reasons**

_...one of the most untidy men that ever drove a fellow-lodger to distraction. ...his papers were my great crux._ I’ve suddenly realised what the obvious reason is for Holmes having to leave his previous lodgings.

 

“So why did you leave the rooms in Montague Street?” asked Watson.

He glanced cautiously at their singed curtains.

“Was it because of… ‘studying branches of science’?”

Holmes smiled.

“Actually it was due to piles of paper.”

“Of course,” said Watson, nodding.

“Oh, not _mine,”_ said Holmes. “My fellow tenants handed in a petition saying it was me or them.”


	9. The Reigate Squires: An Extraordinary Assortment

**An Extraordinary Assortment**

_"What an extraordinary assortment!" I exclaimed.  
"Oh, the fellows evidently grabbed hold of everything they could get."_

 

“Just grab anything, you old fool!”

_(...an odd volume of Pope’s Homer…)_ Ah, my arrogant Odysseus, who believes no-one can defeat him.

_(...two plated candlesticks…)_ So appealing on the surface but worthless within;

_(...an ivory letter-weight…)_ so hard and unyielding;

_(...a small oak barometer…)_ swinging from sunshine to storms.

_(...a ball of twine…)_ If only I could escape this labyrinth.


	10. The Valley of Fear: Living with Il Principe & Mr. Holmes the Detective & Beloved Friend, Dearly Missed & A Change of Name

**Living with Il Principe**

_“Perhaps there are points which have escaped your Machiavellian intellect.”_

 

**Il Compagno: A treatise on being a consulting detective’s companion**

_by Dr. ‘Niccolò’ W._

 

Patience is needed.

Curb that string of expletives into: “You are a little trying.”

 

Develop a vein of pawky humour.

 

And remember: it is better to be feared than loved. If all else fails, hit him over the head with something heavy.

I recommend Whitaker’s Almanack.

 

 

**Mr. Holmes the Detective**

_...the contentment of their family life._ _“I have worked with Mr. Holmes before,” said Inspector MacDonald. “He plays the game.” “My own idea of the game, at any rate,” said Holmes, with a smile._

 

“Take me through the deductions again,” said Watson.

Holmes sighed.

“Look at the child’s eyes. The chin! This isn’t the baker’s daughter. _The surname is pure coincidence.”_

“Astonishing.”

Watson plucked the card from Holmes’s fingers and laid Miss Bun beside Mr. Bun, Mrs. Bun and Master Bun.

He looked up.

“You’d do _anything_ to stop me winning at Happy Families.”

 

 

**Beloved Friend, Dearly Missed**

_"I guess hell must look something like that…”_

 

“Thank goodness!”

Archangel Michael hurried over.

“You went the wrong way. You should be in heaven, Doctor!”

Watson looked about. “Isn’t this it?”

Michael paused.

“There are flames. And souls in torment. Surely you can’t think _this_ is heaven?”

“Well.” Watson shrugged. “When you’ve spent a wet Sunday with a consulting detective who hasn’t had a case in three weeks…”

 

 

**A Change of Name**

_Ten days later they were married in Chicago…_

 

Tomorrow she would be Mrs. Edwards.

Ettie smiled to herself. And then shook her head at her own foolishness as the tears began to fall too.

They were tears of relief—of _course._ But they were also in memoriam. For ‘Jack McMurdo’, left forever behind.

Birdy was a far better man but...

It was Jack she’d fallen in love with.


	11. The Resident Patient: A Doctor's Prescription

**A Doctor’s Prescription**

_“Not drawn towards drink, eh?”_

 

“Would you mind throwing these empty brandy bottles away?” Watson attempted a smile. “Mr. Holmes has influenza, you see.”

“Yes, of course...”

Mrs. Hudson paused.

“Does brandy cure influenza then, sir?”

“Haven’t the foggiest,” said Watson. “I’m the one who’s been drinking it.”

And he closed his eyes in silent prayer as a bedside bell began to tinkle yet _again._


	12. The Greek Interpreter: In The Blood

**In The Blood**

_"It is a mercy that you are on the side of the force, and not against it, Mr. Holmes," remarked the inspector, as he noted the clever way in which my friend had forced back the catch._

 

“Where did you learn that trick with the catch, Holmes?”

“My mother taught me.”

Watson raised an eyebrow.

Holmes nodded.

“Apparently Mama first met Papa while burgling his family home on a dare. She stole his heart. And his collection of toy soldiers.”

Holmes sighed.

“Papa used to insist marrying her was the only way he could get them back.”


	13. The Copper Beeches: Her Young Man

**Her Young Man**

 

“I’m sorry it took me so long to realise you were being kept prisoner.”

Fowler took Alice’s hand.

“I only understood when the woman in the window turned to me.”

“Oh! You saw her face?” said Alice.

“No.” Fowler looked bewildered at the memory. “She… waved me away.”

Alice laughed and hugged him. “As if I would _ever_ do that.”


	14. The Sign of Four: Choices, Patronage & Hearts are Trumps

**Choices**

_“He disappeared upon the third of December, 1878,—nearly ten years ago.”_ _“I had no relative in England.”_ Well, everyone else has a secret brother…

 

Her half-brother soon replied:

_You had better come out to us, Mary. Catherine could do with help with the children and the house._

She had sent back a polite refusal. This sudden freedom terrified her, but she found herself loath to give it up.

There were other children she could look after.

And perhaps there might be some adventures too.

 

 

**Patronage**

_He bore no grudge against Bartholomew Sholto..._

 

I have cause to be grateful to St. Bartholomew.

I met Holmes at Bart's; I met Mary because of Thaddeus Sholto and his unfortunate brother.

An odd patron saint for an army doctor perhaps. Though ‘neurological diseases’ come under his protection...

And as Mary teases:

“Choosing to put up with Mr. Holmes and me? Why, you need your head examining.”

 

 

**Hearts are Trumps**

Title from the [Millais painting](http://www.tate.org.uk/about/projects/john-everett-millaiss-hearts-are-trumps-1872). _...the other young officers would meet in his rooms of an evening and play cards… the soldiers used always to lose..._

 

I was surprised when I heard Small’s story—that such a man as Captain Morstan should have an angelic daughter like Mary.

There are some similarities I will admit: her boldness, and her loyalty. But on the whole she is greatly different from her father.

She is honest.

Selfless.

And you should never, _ever_ play cards with her for money.


	15. The Noble Bachelor: Beneath One's Station

**Beneath One's Station**

As the New Annotated Sherlock Holmes mentions, ‘Lord St. Simon’ is actually incorrect for the younger son of a Duke. He’s either Lord Robert St. Simon or Lord Robert.

 

“And so you see, father,” said Lord Robert. “She may not be of our station but the dowry will be… sufficient.”

His father nodded. “I suppose I must grant my consent then.”

 

The Duke sighed as Robert left. The marriage _was_ necessary but still, he could not wholeheartedly approve…

That poor girl. Stuck with his pompous fool of a son.


	16. The Naval Treaty: Early Developer

**Early Developer**

_I have no doubt that you can remember “Tadpole” Phelps, who was in the fifth form when you were in the third. “How are you, Watson?” said he, cordially. “I should never have known you under that moustache…_ (And apologies to the brave Miss Mouselet.)

 

“So what was _your_ nickname at that age?”

“Er…” Watson looked up from his notes. “Whiskers.”

Holmes frowned. _“Whiskers?_ Can’t see you as being timid as a mouse.”

“No, it was because…” Watson twiddled his modest facial hair. “Well, as Phelps said, I didn’t have _this_ moustache then...”

“No?” Holmes raised an eyebrow.

“No.”

Watson sighed.

“I had a _handlebar.”_


	17. The Hound of the Baskervilles: Conductor of (Sweetness and) Light & The Boot Boy & What does man want more? & Significant Other

**Conductor of (Sweetness and) Light**

_"Since we have been so unfortunate as to miss him and have no notion of his errand, this accidental souvenir becomes of importance."_

 

“I knew I’d miss a client if we went to that _wretched_ play!”

Holmes stomped off up the stairs.

Watson sighed, and turned to Mrs. Hudson.

Who smiled.

“Emergency procedures were followed, sir. I distracted the gentleman, and he left something behind...”

_“Excellent,_ Mrs. Hudson.”

Watson glanced upwards.

“Hopefully a little deducing will distract Holmes. Until this Dr. Mortimer returns.”

 

 

**The Boot Boy**

_"My missing boot!" he cried. "...the waiter must have placed it there while we were lunching." The German was sent for but professed to know nothing of the matter..._

 

Franz rushed in.

“The brown boot’s turned up!”

Edwin looked up from his polishing. “Thank Gawd. I might’ve got the boot if it hadn’t.”

Franz paused. “Äh..?”

Edwin nodded.

“And you might have been in trouble to boot.”

Franz shook his head. “What a strange language. _Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof.”_

Edwin frowned.

“Blimey. Now the boot’s on the other foot.”

 

(A/N: "Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof" translates literally as "I only understand 'railway station'." Idiomatically, it means "It's all Greek to me.")

 

 

**What does man want more?**

_"I brought Cartwright down with me… and he has seen after my simple wants: a loaf of bread and a clean collar… He has given me an extra pair of eyes upon a very active pair of feet… What does man want more?"_

 

Cartwright had left for his Grimpen lodgings and Holmes was alone again, pondering.

The boy was a fine assistant. However...

Holmes sighed.

Turning away from his fire, he gazed out at the moor.

Hopefully the reunion with his 'conductor of light' would be soon. He had not realised how much he would miss having Watson to discuss the case with.

 

 

**Significant Other**

_Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer were, however, in London, on their way to that long voyage which had been recommended for the restoration of his shattered nerves._

 

Sir Henry gazed at the walls of his cabin: the first, the second, the third.

“You know, Mortimer. I think… I’ve finally accepted Beryl can never be my wife.”

_“Wife!”_

Mortimer paled.

“I didn’t tell her I was going away! I completely forgot I was married!”

Sir Henry glanced at the fourth wall.

“Well. I think she’d slipped everybody’s mind.”


	18. The Stock-broker's Clerk: Paddington

**Paddington**

_Shortly after my marriage I had bought a connection in the Paddington district._ (STOC) _...there was that majestic figure prostrate and insensible upon our bearskin hearth-rug._ (PRIO) Mentions of ‘Paddington’ always send my thoughts in one particular direction... A possible explanation for how the bearskin rug came to Baker Street.

 

Mary frowned. “What’s that, dear?” 

Watson unrolled the furry rug.

“I found it at the station. With a note simply saying: ‘Please look after this bearskin. Thank you.’”

Mary shook her head. 

“Perhaps Mr. Holmes would like it. It’s rather large for us.”

She took a step back.

“And it does seem to be giving me quite a hard stare.”


	19. A Scandal in Bohemia: Wedding Ring

**Wedding Ring**

_‘Now, I know that there are seventeen steps, because I have both seen and observed.’_ _'Drive like the devil,' he shouted, 'first to Gross & Hankey's in Regent Street, and then to the Church of St. Monica in the Edgware Road. Half a guinea if you do it in twenty minutes!'_

 

Irene shook her head. 

“In and out of that jeweller’s in minutes, but you chose a ring of the correct size and completely to my taste. Your powers of observation must equal those of Sherlock Holmes himself!”

_“Really?”_ said Norton.

Irene burst into laughter, and Norton grinned. “I’ll buy you another.” 

“No need...”

His wife smiled.

“I love this one.”


	20. The Engineer's Thumb: Rest in Pieces

**Rest in Pieces**

_...a newly severed human thumb…_

 

“Where am I?” whispered the thumb.

“Limbo,” intoned Holmes’s left canine. “Where we wait until the rest of our bodies die. A place of peace and—”

“Let us in!”

“Oh, for—” The tooth turned to Violet Hunter’s hair. “No renewable bits!”

“We’re still body parts!”

“Go _away!”_

The canine scowled.

“And you can take Dr. Watson’s toenail clippings with you.”


	21. The Crooked Man: Achievement—Unlocked

**Achievement—Unlocked**

_“The door had eventually to be opened by a locksmith from Aldershot.”_

 

** Suggested Methods for Attempting to Unlock a Door **

 

**Mr. Sherlock Holmes:** lockpicks, of course.

**Dr. Watson:** a powerful and carefully directed kick, just below the handle.

**Inspector Lestrade:** a shot from the contents of my hip pocket!

**Mrs. Hudson:** if you had all simply waited and _asked…_ I had a spare set of keys for 221B in my biscuit barrel.


	22. The Boscombe Valley Mystery: Regeneration

**Regeneration**

_“And the practice?” “I do my neighbour’s when he goes. He is always ready to work off the debt.”_ (STOC) _“I have no doubt Jackson would take my practice.”_ (CROO) _"Oh, Anstruther would do your work for you.”_ (BOSC) So why does the neighbour abruptly change from Jackson to Anstruther? And what does the neighbouring doctor do when he’s away from his practice..?

 

There was a new face next door.

“Hello!” smiled Watson. “Jackson gone, has he, Doctor..?”

“Er…” The new doctor looked sideways. “An…struth…er..? Yes, Anstruther!”

He opened Jackson’s blue cabinet and stepped inside.

“Sorry to dash; I’ll be back soon. Same arrangement as before all right?”

The door closed, and the cabinet faded away.

Watson simply stared.

“Fine by me, Doctor.”


	23. The Five Orange Pips: A Tight Spot

**A Tight Spot**

 

Billy had been trapped now for three hours.

“I needed a hidden witness to the conversation, you see,” said Holmes.

Mrs. Hudson was extraordinarily calm.

“I understand that, Mr. Holmes. However, could you explain _why you thought it was a good idea to hide my page up your chimney?”_

“Well…” Holmes frowned. “I don’t think Dr. Watson would have fitted.”

 

(A/N: _...the wind cried and sobbed like a child in the chimney._ )


	24. The Man with the Twisted Lip: It's All Academic Anyway

**It's All Academic Anyway**

_...the late Elias Whitney, D.D., Principal of the Theological College of St. George's…_

 

“...And so Mary and I would be honoured if you’d marry us!” beamed Watson.

“But...” Dr. Whitney frowned. “I’m not—”

His secretary interrupted.

“Sorry, sir. Another group of pirates and young ladies outside demanding immediate marriage. As you’re a Doctor of Divinity who resides in the vicinity…”

Whitney sighed. “I’d hoped this would stop happening, once I moved from Penzance.”

 

A/N: _We shall quickly be parsonified/ Conjugally matrimonified/ By a doctor of divinity/ Who resides in this vicinity._ (Pirates of Penzance)


	25. A Case of Identity: Half a Dozen of the Other

**Half a Dozen of the Other**

_“He travels for Westhouse & Marbank, the great claret importers of Fenchurch Street.”_

 

“When I contacted Westhouse & Marbank about Windibank,” said Holmes, “I thought I might as well put in an order too. Six bottles of their finest claret!”

Watson peered inside the newly delivered box. “Holmes, I think they’ve mixed up your order with someone else’s.”

Holmes smiled ruefully. “Ah! Another case of identity.”

“No…” said Watson. “Case of gin, actually.”


	26. The Red-headed League:

**Fiery-locks and the Three Chairs**

_“Try the settee,” said Holmes… I… indeed was nodding myself…_

 

“Ah, perfect timing, Watson...”

“Yes! I can see… somebody’s sitting in my chair! Hello, Fiery-locks!”

“Watson!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll find another chair. No, too hard… This one’s too soft… Maybe I should just _lie_ down...”

“Try the settee, old fellow. Mrs. Hudson! Dr. Watson’s been at the brandy again. Perhaps some coffee—? Oh, never mind. Somebody’s sleeping in my bed.”


	27. The Blue Carbuncle: Nest Egg

**Nest Egg**

_...the bonniest, brightest little blue egg that ever was seen._ _“I have reason to know that there are sentimental considerations in the background which would induce the Countess to part with half her fortune if she could but recover the gem."_

 

“I can never repay you, Mr. Holmes.”

The Countess held the carbuncle tenderly.

“It should hatch within a year now. My little daughter.”

“Ryder’s gone,” whispered Holmes. “Your maid, what will you..?”

“I’ll fire her.”

Holmes’s eyes widened.

_“Dismiss_ her,” smiled the Countess.

 

Holmes was trembling on his return.

Watson nodded sympathetically.

“I’ve heard the Countess is rather a dragon.”


	28. The Dying Detective: Evicted

**Evicted**

_“There are my prisons," he continued, pointing to a row of bottles and jars which stood upon a side table. "Among those gelatine cultivations some of the very worst offenders in the world are now doing time." ...the pictures of celebrated criminals with which every wall was adorned. “...for me the microbe… for him the villain…”_

 

Culverton Smith was poking around the attic. “So where will I sleep?”

Holmes laughed. “You’re not _staying.”_

He escorted Smith down the stairs and—

Holmes opened his eyes.

Picking up Smith’s police photograph, he hung it carefully on the wall.

“There!”

He smiled at all the villains in their pictorial prisons.

“Must keep my mind tidy for the next case.”


	29. The Final Problem: The End

**The End**

 

I kept both notes: Holmes’s amongst my personal possessions; Moriarty’s thrust deep into my late friend’s records.

When Holmes returned, I reread his ‘last’ message with a mixture of sadness and joy.

And I read Moriarty’s final words with almost pity. As he wrote the lies about the dying woman, he himself was approaching his end.

Did he know? Perhaps.


	30. The Empty House: Stop and Smell the Flowers

**Stop and Smell the Flowers**

_...a bed of crocuses in full bloom lay beneath._

 

221B was knee- _deep_ in nosegays.

Bessie smiled. “The gentlemen are so fond of each other.”

“Actually…” Mrs. Hudson glanced at Dr. Watson riffling furiously through ‘The Language of Flowers’. “They’re arguing. You see… Don’t look at that one!”

She clapped a hand over Bessie’s eyes.

There was a pause.

“Mrs. Hudson…” said Bessie.

“Yes?”

“I… can still smell the message.”


	31. The Norwood Builder: Fire!

**Fire!**

_She had been awakened by the alarm of fire._

 

The whistle sounded.

“Ah! Our regular fire drill,” smiled Holmes. “Shall we..?”

He and Watson made their way downstairs and joined Bessie, Billy and Mrs. Hudson on the pavement.

Watson frowned. “Mrs. Hudson, I appreciate safety is important but is a _daily_ fire drill necessary?”

Mrs. Hudson’s eyes flicked to Holmes for the merest moment.

“Yes, sir. Yes, it is.”


	32. The Dancing Men: Recovery

**Recovery**

_I only know that I have heard she recovered entirely, and that she still remains a widow, devoting her whole life to the care of the poor and to the administration of her husband’s estate._ Inspired by [rachelindeed](http://archiveofourown.org/users/rachelindeed/pseuds/rachelindeed)’s note on this week's [poetry page](http://sherlock60.livejournal.com/679520.html).

 

I recovered physically. Slowly I learnt to live with the grief and guilt. I took comfort in working hard and in caring for others.

I discovered I had true friends I could rely on. And eventually I smiled again. Laughed again.

I chose to go on.

My story didn’t have a happy ending, but it wasn’t a hopeless one either.


	33. The Six Napoleons: The Six Detectives

**The Six Detectives**

_It was no very unusual thing for Mr. Lestrade, of Scotland Yard, to look in upon us of an evening..._

 

Lestrade was comparing notes with a visiting inspector.

Holmes watched thoughtfully. “That’s what we need! Someone to tell us informally what’s going on at Scotland Yard.” He furrowed his brow. “Gregson? Jones? Patterson? Youghal? Morton?”

“You’re missing the obvious.” Watson gestured discreetly. “Someone willing to listen and learn, as well as talk..?”

“Ah.” Holmes smiled. “Lestrade. A pearl amongst men.”


	34. The Second Stain: A Hairy Situation

**A Hairy Situation**

_“...Their most trivial action may mean volumes, or their most extraordinary conduct may depend upon a hairpin or a curling-tongs. Good morning, Watson.” “You are off?”_

 

“Oh, the way you shot up the stairs to warn us!”

Mrs. Hudson regarded Holmes steadily. “I’d only put the curling-tongs down for a moment, sir. To let in _your_ client.”

Holmes laughed. “It’s so amusing though. _You_ starting a fire for once!”

“Holmes…” Watson was backing slowly towards the door. “That vein in Mrs. Hudson’s temple is throbbing again…”


	35. The Golden Pince-Nez: Sight Test

**Sight Test**

 

Mrs. Hudson set her new pince-nez firmly on her nose.

“There!”

She gazed about 221B.

“It’ll help so much with the cleaning. Now I can see everything in detail and…”

Her voice trailed away as she stared at the floor, the furniture. The ceiling.

With shaking hand, Mrs. Hudson removed the glasses.

“Perhaps I’ll just wear them… for special occasions.”


	36. The Solitary Cyclist: The Cycle of Life

**The Cycle of Life**

 

“Mr. Holmes..?” The cyclist came to a graceful halt by the Sussex villa’s gate.

“Mrs. Morton!” cried Holmes. “A solo bicycling holiday, is it?”

“Well—”

Cyril Morton and a youth shot by on a tandem. Several girls on bicycles followed, and finally came an infant furiously pedalling her tricycle.

Violet Morton grinned. “I’m… not really a solitary cyclist any more.”


	37. Black Peter: A Breath of Fresh Air

**A Breath of Fresh Air**

_“...And yet he might have kept some tobacco for his friends."_

 

“So, what about a cigar?”

“Yes, that’s…”

Hopkins watched in bemusement as Holmes rose from the dinner table. He followed him downstairs, and then out to the backyard and a windswept shelter.

Holmes smiled. “Mrs. Hudson now insists I confine all tobacco related activities to the ‘smoking room’.

Hopkins frowned. “But why?”

“Because,” said Holmes, “I had a… smoking… room.”


	38. Charles Augustus Milverton: Changing Her Combinations

**Changing Her Combinations**

_...there stood a tall green safe...this green and gold monster, the dragon which held in its maw the reputations of many fair ladies._ A CHAS AU, and a follow-up to [this BLUE 60](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6712621/chapters/20061541).

 

A strange child kept hidden. The whispers were intriguing enough that Milverton simply had to investigate himself, and—

_“Aaaaargh!”_

The Countess of Morcar rushed in. “Athelinda! What have I said about reducing blackmailers to ash in the nursery?”

She smiled indulgently at the little dragon.

“Still. It keeps your secret safe until you _finally_ learn how to take human form.”


	39. The Three Students: Playing the Three-Card Trick

**Playing the Three-Card Trick**

_In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine…_ [STUD] _It was in the year '95 that a combination of events, into which I need not enter, caused Mr. Sherlock Holmes and myself to spend some weeks in one of our great university towns..._   _I will endeavour in my statement to avoid such terms as would serve to limit the events to any particular place, or give a clue as to the people concerned._

 

Holmes was reading Watson’s draft. “...in the year '95… spend some _weeks?”_ He snorted.

“52 weeks is ‘some’ weeks,” said Watson primly.

Holmes raised an eyebrow. “And ‘one of our great university towns’..?”

“I received just as excellent an education as you, Holmes.”

Watson grinned.

“And it uses my readers’ assumptions against them. They’ll never guess we never left London!”


	40. The Bruce-Partington Plans: An Honourable Person

**An Honourable Person**

_“If you have a fancy to see your name in the next honours list—"_

 

Holmes was idly scanning the New Year Honours list when—

“Great heavens!”

He shook his head with a smile.

“Mycroft must have insisted upon it. Well, I understand why he thought the recognition was deserved.”

Watson frowned. “You’ve been given a knighthood?”

“Oh, no...”

Holmes stood as Mrs. Hudson entered with the tea, and he bowed.

“Thank you. _Dame Sybilla.”_

 

A/N: According to Wikipedia _the title of dame as the official equivalent of knight [wasn’t] introduced [until] 1917_. But Mrs. Hudson would have been a special case of course ^^ 

 


	41. The Abbey Grange: Well, That Was Un-Warranted

**Well, That Was Un-Warranted**

_”I think our next scene of operations must be the shipping office of the Adelaide-Southampton line…” Holmes's card sent in to the manager ensured instant attention…_ Er, bit of a nod to the BBC here. And implied Holmes/Hopkins.

 

“The power of your reputation!” said Watson. “The manager fell over himself to give you information! And all you had to do was send in your card.”

Holmes grinned. “Actually, it was _Hopkins’_ card.”

“Gracious.” Watson frowned. “When did you… purloin... it?”

Holmes blushed, and Watson’s eyebrows rose considerably.

“Never mind. As they say, what happens in the broom cupboard...”


	42. The Missing Three-Quarter: Pale Winter Sunshine

**Pale Winter Sunshine**

_A woman, young and beautiful... Her calm, pale face, with dim, wide-opened blue eyes, looked upward from amid a great tangle of golden hair._

 

Afterwards, Holmes was careful of my feelings. But it is four years since Mary died. My only sorrow now… is that I no longer grieve over her.

Mrs. Staunton has gone, and taken the whole world with her. But gradually young Staunton will learn to live in its strange, new replacement—and then, one day, he will call it home.


	43. The Devil's Foot: Hum

**Hum**

_I have no idea what backward sweep of memory had brought the matter fresh to his mind…_

 

Perhaps, thought Holmes, he should be more supportive of Watson’s stories. Suggest some cases!

What about..?

(“Come, friends…”)

Holmes winced, and attempted to concentrate.

Or maybe...

(“Po—oo—or, wand’ring—”)

Or… _The Cornish Horror!_

Holmes frowned.

Where had that come from? He—

(“Tarantara…”)

Holmes spun to face his housekeeper.

_“Mrs. Marshburn!_ Could we at least move on from _the Pirates of Penzance?”_

 

 

A/N: The author has now been obsessed with ‘Pirates’ for 13 months and counting...


	44. The Sussex Vampire: Absolutely Horrific

**Absolutely Horrific**

_Our client, Mr. Robert Ferguson, of Ferguson and Muirhead, tea brokers, of Mincing Lane, has made some inquiry from us in a communication of even date concerning vampires._

 

The slurping noise woke Watson with a start.

He tiptoed downstairs—

And was greeted by a truly revolting sight.

_“Holmes!”_

Holmes looked up, his lips glistening wet. “It’s just so delicious!”

“I know...”

Watson sighed.

“And you must have your reward. But—”

He winced as Holmes took another slurp.

“—could you at least let Ferguson’s tea _cool_ before drinking it?”


	45. The Red Circle: Waxing One's Moustache

**Waxing One's Moustache**

_"You arranged an affair for a lodger of mine last year," she said — "Mr. Fairdale Hobbs." “...even your modest moustache would have been singed."_

 

“It’s a… ‘charming’… little moustache, Holmes.”

Holmes scowled. “Mrs. Hudson and I were _undercover._ With insufficient time for completing our toilets.” 

Watson’s laughter burst forth. 

“Sorry!” 

He gestured at their landlady. 

“But Mrs. Hudson’s teasing you too! Wearing that _ridiculous_ fake mousta—!” 

Watson paused. 

“Oh...” 

He rose. 

“Spend the night at my club?” 

“If you would,” said Mrs. Hudson calmly.


	46. The Problem of Thor Bridge: Wordsmith

 

**Wordsmith**

_“...she was past her prime…”_ _If I were a sculptor…_

 

“So you will model?”

Mrs. Hudson nodded. “Though… ‘capturing me in my prime’, Doctor? I have no photographs from then.”

Watson frowned. “I meant _now._ Your wisdom… elegance...”

“Always picking the perfect thing to say.” Mrs. Hudson beamed. “You’re… a sculptor of words!”

Watson blushed. “You’ll be equally pleased by what I do with your bust!”

“Yes…” said Mrs. Hudson.


	47. Shoscombe Old Place: Focus, Mrs. Hudson, Focus

**Focus, Mrs. Hudson, Focus**

_Sherlock Holmes had been bending for a long time over a low-power microscope…_

 

“Dust. Glue. Blood. _Onion gravy..?”_

Mrs. Hudson looked up from the microscope.

“Mr. Holmes has gathered quite a range of stains on these trousers, Bessie. Better fetch the alcohol.”

Bessie looked scandalised. “But… it’s only mid-morning.”

“Alcohol for the _stains,_ dear.”

Mrs. Hudson stared down the eyepiece again and sighed.

“Oh, I don’t know though. Perhaps bring the gin too.”


	48. The Retired Colourman: Dramatic Irony

**Dramatic Irony**

 

“Do _you_ think I should ‘cut out the poetry’?” asked Watson.

Mrs. Hudson perused the manuscript. _“How any decent woman could have tolerated such a state of things… The house… was slatternly…”_

She looked thoughtful.

“It’s fine. And given me some… practical… ideas.”

Watson nodded. “You’re going to repaint?”

Mrs. Hudson was not quite making eye contact. “‘Repaint’… Of course.”


	49. The Priory School: The Duchess Returns

**The Duchess Returns**

_"...I would suggest that you make such amends as you can to the Duchess, and that you try to resume those relations which have been so unhappily interrupted." "That also I have arranged, Mr. Holmes. I wrote to the Duchess this morning."_

 

The Fates were mocking her.

On the ferry she’d spotted _George._ Still handsome…

Thankfully she’d escaped unseen.

The Duchess shivered.

She’d been a fool all those years ago. But her marriage had been so unhappy from the start.

She looked again at her husband’s letter and almost laughed. His illegitimate child banished forever, and his legitimate heir… wasn’t his son.


	50. Wisteria Lodge: A Much-Loved Child

**A Much-Loved Child**

Signora Durando seeks Holmes’ help in tracing her illegitimate daughter by the late Garcia. A follow-up to [this previous WIST 60](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3600000/chapters/11904686).

 

“Her adoptive family wished you to have this photograph,” said Holmes. “However…”

“I understand.”

Signora Durando looked away.

“But I wouldn’t have tried to take Dolores from her— Her mother.”

“They… changed her name.”

Signora Durando nodded wearily. “A good English name, to leave her past behind.”

“No,” said Holmes gently. “For you she’s Dolores but… for them she’s Luz.”

 

A/N: ‘Dolores’ of course means ‘sorrows’ and ‘Luz’ is ‘light’.


	51. The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax: Proposals

**Proposals**

 

“I will marry you.”

Green looked up startled.

Frances looked grim. “Better the devil you know...”

Green shook his head.

He produced a photograph and letters of recommendation. “Miss Spencer—your new companion if you wish. Cultured, cynical and… trained in baritsu.”

Green stood to go.

“I said I loved you. I’ve realised it’s time I showed you I do.”


	52. The Three Garridebs: An Element of Comedy

**An Element of Comedy**

_I remember the date very well, for it was in the same month that Holmes refused a knighthood for services which may perhaps some day be described._ Victoria had died the year before, leaving a minor request in her will…

 

“So… you’re going to turn it down?” Watson grinned. “But it’s such an honour…”

Holmes scowled. “It’d be different if it was for my work.”

He looked at the letter again.

“But I refuse to tell people it’s because I freed _Queen Victoria’s bustle from Mycroft’s armchair!”_

Watson laughed.

“Nice to see the old girl retained a sense of humour.”


	53. The Illustrious Client: Wonder-Woman

**Wonder-Woman**

_”...Violet de Merville, young, rich, beautiful, accomplished, a wonder-woman in every way.”_

 

“On your release, I’ll establish you in your own business.”

Kitty scoffed. “I don’t want charity!”

“It’s what I _owe_ you.”

Violet produced the diary.

“For this. Not— That changed nothing. He’s still manipulating the naive.”

She gripped the book.

“But… I know my duty.”

Kitty laughed softly. “You’re going to save _all_ his future victims?”

Violet nodded firmly.

“Yes.”


	54. The Mazarin Stone: Crack

**Crack**

_"But the false bottom ain't ready."_

 

“So you’ll do it?” asked Holmes.

Watson nodded gravely. “Naturally I’ll smuggle the papers out! Anything for my country!”

“Excellent.”

Holmes picked up two moulded rubber mounds. Watson frowned at them, and glanced at his suitcase.

“Holmes, when you said I’d be making use of a ‘false bottom’ I thought…”

“Yes?”

Watson sighed and began undoing his trousers. “Never mind.”


	55. The Veiled Lodger: Freak of Nature

**Freak of Nature**

_“...the thing which the lion had left.”_

 

_“He might as soon have loved one of the freaks—”_

George threw the Strand down.

“Charming!”

Nellie tutted. “Don’t be hard on her. Losing beauty when you’ve been born beautiful, well…”

“She was never as beautiful as you though.”

Nellie frowned. “Truly?”

George grinned, and leant forward to stroke her beard. “I think, my love, someone is fishing for compliments.”


	56. The Three Gables: A Better Man

**A Better Man**

 

Dear Dr. Watson—

Mr. Holmes has long demanded my admiration: unimpressed by social position; reluctant to judge by appearance.

So—your latest story. Joke? Another’s work?

Because that was not the man I met all those years ago.

And I read once, when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

Yours,

Lucy Hebron Munro

 

A/N: _"I am not a very good man, Effie, but I think that I am a better one than you have given me credit for being."_ [YELL]


	57. The Blanched Soldier: Unsightly

**Unsightly**

_“A well-marked case of pseudo-leprosy or ichthyosis, a scale-like affection of the skin, unsightly, obstinate…”_

 

“Mr. Emsworth…”

Holmes hesitated.

“I often use theatrical makeup. Perhaps I could teach you some techniques..?”

Young Emsworth smiled, and shook his head. “Mr. Holmes, you have given me back my friend, my freedom and my future. When I think of those poor devils back in that hospital—”

His expression became more serious.

“I can cope with a few stares.”


	58. The Creeping Man: Something's Different

**Something's Different**

_With a wave of his hand he indicated my old armchair, but otherwise for half an hour he gave no sign that he was aware of my presence..._ _I have one other client in England…_

 

Mrs. Hudson climbed in through the window, thrust a tray at Watson—

“Tea, you _b______.”_

—and then exited, creeping on all fours.

“Ah, Watson…”

Watson turned to Holmes, who smiled.

“Anything interesting happen while I was ‘away’..?”

Watson looked bemused.

“Mrs. Hudson… Is she..?”

He shook his head.

“...trying a new hairstyle?”

Holmes nodded. “Embraced the Gibson tuck, I believe!”


	59. The Lion's Mane: Outlandish Blood

**Outlandish Blood**

_...there was some strange outlandish blood in the man, which showed itself not only in his coal-black eyes and swarthy face but also in occasional outbreaks of temper, which could only be described as ferocious…_

 

“I’m sure Mr. Holmes did not mean to be offensive,” said Stackhurst cautiously.

Murdoch set the Strand aside and rolled his eyes.

“I had believed my temper was my own flaw that I alone must take responsibility for...”

He chuckled.

“But it seems my poor, gentle grandfather has a lot more to answer for than my eyes and my abilities.”


	60. His Last Bow: One More Quiet Talk

**One More Quiet Talk**

_“...No, Mr. Von Bork, you will go with us in a quiet, sensible fashion to Scotland Yard… As to you, Watson, you are joining us with your old service, as I understand, so London won't be out of your way…”_

 

They walked together down Baker Street.

Watson paused outside no. 221. “Should we knock?”

Holmes shook his head.

“Mrs. Hudson’s sold up.”

Watson looked over at Holmes and hesitated.

“We’ll both have our work but…”

Holmes held out his hand.

“Until we meet again.”

They shook hands, and Holmes smiled.

“I’m sure the two of us have adventures to come.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the last 60 for Round 5, and the last 60 altogether from me.
> 
> But Small Hobbit and I are handing over the reins, and in a few weeks Sherlock60 will be continuing on both [Livejournal](http://sherlock60.livejournal.com/) and [Dreamwidth](https://sherlock60.dreamwidth.org/) for Round 6!


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